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Bamboo42

Guest

These abandoned brickworks are open to the public and were even partly restored by a lottery fund in 2000. It is quiet baffling that the lottery would choose to protect and save these buildings when so many other prominent buildings fall to neglect.

I must make it clear now that I am not denying the historical importance of the brickworks or saying that I think they should have not been protected. I just feel that the lottery would tackle projects that would bring them more public kudos.

These buildings are remote to say the least. Trust me look up Ebernoe on a map and you will be starting to get a clue of how hidden these works are.

Then bare in mind they are not actually in Ebernoe and that they lay on a footpath that you would only go down if you were lost or deliberately looking for the brickworks, which I would imagine no normal people would be.

History

The works are featured on a map in 1795 but there is evidence of Bricks being sold on the site from as early as 1693 when a man was paid to carry bricks from Ebernoe to Petworth (where the bricks were used on Petworth estate).

The plant was open until 1930 and remained un-mechanised until this time, with little adjustment to the buildings. This is an Updraft Kiln and the tunnels are where the fires were lit. The main chamber had a capacity of 18,000 bricks a time.

Warning: Although obviously no CCTV, or dogs etc take a torch. If you get lost and it gets dark you are pretty screwed, it is pitch black out there (lesson learnt hard way when last in the area). At best the badgers will get you at worst you will fall into the hands of deliverance style backwater types. (Extra note: Sign on one house near there reads: "Trespassers will be shot, survivors will be shot again and they are not joking, the constant pop of guns should be clue)